This invention relates generally to hair ornaments, and more particularly to devices for holding hair, e.g., a ponytail holder, or to be worn on the head as a headband or on a hat as a hat band.
Various elastic rings are commercially available for use as ponytail holders and some are the subject of United States Letters Patent. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 292,030 (Revson) there is shown a gathered fabric ring for holding a pony tail. Commercially available devices bearing that patent number are constructed utilizing a generously sized ring of a decorative fabric and having an elastic ring disposed therein to cause the fabric ring to gather into many folds. Resulting ring can then be used directly or twisted up into a "figure 8" configuration to hold strands of gathered hair, e.g., a ponytail.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,171 (Goodman) there is disclosed a ponytail holder which is formed of a relatively wide fabric ring having a tubular annulus around a central hole, and an elastic ring having a portion that is readily grasped, as by having a knob, such as a bead, for pulling a loop of the elastic ring outside of the fabric ring. The fabric ring with its contained portion of the elastic ring, can encircle a pony tail once and grip the pony tail and the loop of the elastic ring outside the fabric ring can encircle the pony tail separately.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,385 (Rhodes) there is disclosed a ponytail holder comprising an endless planar elastic band and at least one flattened hollow tube of a flexible material and having mutually interconnecting end edges. The flattened tube is interconnected to the elastic band along the axial length of the tube and the band while the band is in an expanded or stretched condition. The hollow tube includes radially inwardly directed cut edges extending through less than the width of the tube to form two ply radially outwardly extending members which simulate petals of a flower.
While the aforementioned patents appear generally suitable for their intended purposes, e.g., to hold the strands of hair forming a pony tail, the never the less leave something to be desired from one or more of the following standpoints, aesthetic appeal, effectiveness, ruggedness or resistance to damage from repeated usage, ease of manufacture, cost.
Hence, a need presently exists for a hair/head ornament which address those deficiencies of the prior art.